Substituted formamides are clear colorless liquids or solids which are miscible both with water and/or common organic solvents. As a result of these properties, they find extensive use in industry. The more widely used substituted formamides are the lower alkyl formamides of which dimethylformamide is the most widely used of all. Dimethylformamide (DMF) finds extensive use as a solvent for vinyl resins in lacquers, films and printing inks, for polyurethanes, polyacrylics, pigments, dyes and organic reactions such as halogenation, alkylation, elimination, cyclization and many others. It also finds use as a reaction medium in dyes and as a selective refining solvent for acetylene, acid gases and petroleum constituents.
Virtually all substituted formamides are made by a process involving the reaction of a non-tertiary amine with methyl formate or with gaseous carbon monoxide (CO) in the presence of a catalyst.